Montana Healthy Communities

Dr. Catherine Ipsen, Director of Employment Research; Dr. Meg Ann Traci, Montana Disability and Health Program (MTDH) Project Director; Dr. Rayna Sage, Research Associate; Lillie Greiman, Research Associate; and Andrew Myers, Research Associate, attended the Montana Healthy Communities conference, which was held November 1-2 in Helena, Montana. The conference brought together community development and health leaders from across the state to explore the future of community health improvement.

“A lot can be achieved working at the local level, particularly in rural communities,” said Lillie Greiman. “At the local level, rural communities understand the role of the environment in health, and engaging with others who live and work in rural helps us better understand both the similarities and uniqueness of rural communities across the country.”

RTC:Rural co-director Dr. Tom Seekins was recently honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Public Health Association (APHA). The award “is presented to a person who, over the course of his or her career, has made a major contribution to the improvement of health and quality of life for people with disabilities through research, teaching, advocacy, or practice.”

To see a captioned video of Dr. Seekins’ acceptance speech, click on the embedded video below.

Dr. Seekins was also honored at the 2017 Association of Programs for Rural Independent Living (APRIL) conference in Spokane for his support, involvement, and contributions to the Rural Independent Living and Disability Rights Movement.

Honoring Tom Seekins

“Dr. Tom Seekins was one of the very first people I met when I began my work with APRIL. I owe him a huge debt of gratitude. He, along with Dr. Devva Kasnitz and Linda Gonzales wrote our Rural Transportation Demonstration grant through the Department of Education which allowed APRIL to finally hire staff, i.e. me!! Tom is such a genuine and gentle soul. His soft-spoken manner and kind face represent home to many of us. He is not only a steadfast supporter of APRIL but a trusted and respected voice and scholar in the Rural Independent Living field and for People with Disabilities as a whole. His dedicated life’s work has helped us all understand the distribution of people with disabilities throughout our country and our communities and also highlights the continuing struggles that people with disabilities in Rural America deal with in trying to access services. His contributions are invaluable.

Tom Seekins is the kind of person you would want around in a crisis. He has a calming effect and a grounding energy that is so valuable and rare. It has been my sincere honor to have worked with him for 17 years. I am a better, more thoughtful person because of it.”